LightSquared fails again on Inmarsat rent

INMARSAT said yesterday that struggling US telecoms company LightSquared had not made another payment owed to the British satellite firm for licensing part of its spectrum in North America.

Cash-strapped LightSquared, which is backed by Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners, was scheduled to pay $29.6m (£18.5m) on 31 March, Inmarsat said in a statement.

LightSquared had already failed to pay $56.25m in February, shortly after its plans were dealt a blow when the Federal Communications Commission said its network could interfere with navigation services used by airlines and the military.

Inmarsat said it was still in talks with LightSquared about the co-operation agreement, but it could not provide any assurance that it would receive any further payments.

LightSquared is scheduled to make another “material” payment under the terms of an earlier phase of its agreement today, Inmarsat said.

But the satellite firm said the prospect of further payments “remain highly uncertain.”